Jo Ractliffe au Jeu de Paume : « Je ne suis pas une photographe militante, mais quand on travaille en Afrique du Sud on ne peut échapper aux histoires de violence »
South African photographer Jo Ractliffe discusses her upcoming retrospective at the Jeu de Paume, reflecting on her career path that began during the isolation of the apartheid era. Eschewing traditional photojournalism, Ractliffe developed a singular poetic language focused on landscapes and animals to address the heavy histories of violence, ownership, and displacement in Southern Africa.
The interview highlights the significance of Ractliffe’s work in the context of post-apartheid art, where the landscape serves as an allegorical site of memory rather than a mere scenic view. Her exhibition at the Jeu de Paume - Domaine de Chantilly marks a major European presentation of her career, emphasizing how contemporary photography can navigate the intersection of private poetic inquiry and public political history.